Topic: Nine killed as gunmen storm luxury hotel in Libyan capital

By Ahmed Elumami TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Heavily armed gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in Tripoli favored by Libyan officials and visiting delegations on Tuesday, killing at least nine people, including foreigners, before blowing themselves up with a grenade. Officials said shooting erupted inside the five-star Corinthia Hotel and security forces evacuated guests, including Tripoli's prime minister and an American delegation, after at least two gunmen blasted through the building's reception. It was one of the worst assaults targeting foreigners since the 2011 civil war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi and fractured the oil-producing North African state into fiefdoms of rival armed groups with two national governments, both claiming legitimacy. "The attackers opened fire inside the hotel," Omar Khadrawi, head of Tripoli security, told Reuters.